(Washington, DC, May 4, 2017)—Today the American Humanist Association, with secular advocates across the country, comes together to celebrate the National Day of Reason, an inclusive alternative to the divisive National Day of Prayer.

This is the third introduction of the National Day of Reason resolution, following Congressional successes in 2015 and 2016. Introduced by Rep. Ted Lieu (CA-33) this year, and co-sponsored by Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), House Res. 263 recognizes the first Thursday in May as the National Day of Reason. The American Humanist Association began celebrating the National Day of Reason in 1953 in observance of the traditional American values of rationality, reason, logic, and science.

“Reason is a fundamental tenant that shaped this nation’s constitution, upon which America’s founders established our most cherished freedoms,” said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association. “On this National Day of Reason, reason must be protected even more as we watch science, facts, and basic truths be ignored by some of our elected leaders.”

Speckhardt continued, “While the National Day of Prayer overtly excludes millions of nontheist Americans, the National Day of Reason embraces the values that bind us together as Americans, while upholding the wall separating church and state.”

In addition to leading the national push for a unifying celebration of reason, the American Humanist Association is actively supporting state and local resolutions and proclamations to recognize the day. This year, several resolutions have been passed in Iowa City and Linn County, Iowa, with further resolutions to be introduced in Cedar Rapids and Marion County. Humanist groups around the country will observe the National Day of Reason with lectures, community service projects, and other events.

Founded in 1941 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the American Humanist Association (AHA) works to protect the rights of humanists, atheists, and other nontheistic Americans. The AHA advances the ethical and life-affirming philosophy of humanism, which—without beliefs in any gods or other supernatural forces—encourages individuals to live informed and meaningful lives that aspire to the greater good of humanity.